Weekly Inspiration: Setting Goals with ME/CFS

It's that time of year! On Facebook, the radio, the morning TV shows - everywhere you turn - there is talk of New Year's resolutions. When you are chronically ill, all of this talk of self-improvement can make you feel left out, but it doesn't have to. You can still set - and achieve! - goals when you are chronically ill, even if you are bedridden. They are just different than the goals that healthy people might set.

In my latest article on the ProHealth website, Setting Goals When You Are Chronically Ill, I lay out a step-by-step process for figuring out what's important to you, setting goals, and establishing measurable objectives and targets to help you meet your goals. You can use this process no matter what your physical condition is. I'm sure all of us would be helped by the goal of "Improve my health"! If that is one of your goals, but you don't know where to start, check out my post on Effective Treatments for ME/CFS, which summarizes the treatments that have most helped my son and I to improve over the years.

There are some examples in the article from my own life, but if you want more details, you can check out last year's 2015 Progress and 2016 Goals post, which recounts how I did versus my objectives for the previous year and what I was aiming for in 2016. Even though we are sick, that doesn't mean our goals have to be focused on illness. You might have goals or objectives like "Find Joy in Every Day" or "Strengthen My Relationships" or whatever else is important to you. What's critical are the very specific, measurable baby-step targets that will help you achieve those goals.

Also, look for a similar post here this coming week. After writing the article last month and doing my annual look back this week, I decided to start fresh and rewrite my lifetime goals (I originally wrote some of those decades ago, even before I got sick!). I'm hoping this will also bring me some fresh inspiration for this year's objectives and targets.

In the meantime, read the article on ProHealth and follow the steps to set up your own objectives for the new year - 2017 could be your best year ever!

Do you set goals or objectives for yourself? Is there anything in particular you want to focus on in 2017?

Happy New Year!